I'm sorry for still bringing this up but I feel the need to defend my idea.
I never said it had to be a girl, just suggested that I'd like it if it were, if there are still two more members joining the crew, I think it wouldn't hurt if one of them were female right? I am seriously offended by the fact that someone said that I was another one of those people who though the Straw Hat crew needed more "bewbs". Who am I? A pervert?
I didn't mean it had to be a mermaid but I think it'd be interesting if one joined.
The fact that I suggested she'd be a cleaning lady just comes from the fact that I believe Sunny Go has to be cleaned by someone and I don't see any of the crew members doing that, unless under the glare of Nami…
I'm sorry if it was a stupid idea, just wanted to give my opinion on what the next crew members could be like.

@shinji:

Really after the war luffy has to be one of the most notorious pirates around. And what ever the prophecy holds it will only lead to more enemies latter on. Big mom won't sit by and watch some rookie ruin the island she has taken under her wing, it would be insulting to a younkous name.

Yes, I know he must be "one of the most notorious pirates around" but Luffy still can't reach half of Big Mom's fame, right?
And since we're getting into it, about Luffy destroying FI: do you really think he'll be the cause of it? It's possible that in a big fight he might destroy it unknowingly but I don't see such a thing happening. I think someone, or something, will cause the destruction and Luffy will either blame himself for it or be blamed by someone.

I'm of the opinion that a fishman will join but not Jinbei. He just doesn't fit. Jinbei seems like a passing character, someone who'll remain friend of the crew, a strong connection to have, but no part of the actual crew. Somehow like Vivi, he'll remain a friend.

I'm kind of hoping a mermaid will join, since I think the crew is kind of short on girls. A cleaning one would be nice, I mean, who cleans the ship? It must be full of dust and spiderwebs. I'm really imagining a Sophie-like (from Howl's Moving Castle) crazy-with-cleaning-mermaid getting into the crew and making a revolution on their habits haha!

I'd also like to see a biologist joining, even though Chopper and Robin are both knowledgeable, they're not experts, so having a biologist on the crew to determine species and stuff like that would be fun, no?

I'm sorry to interrupt the discussion, but I wanted to give my opinion.

This was such a good opening, my new fav!!
It somehow brings back a lot of what happened during the anime ^_^
Can't wait to see them all together again, the straw hat pirates I mean. But I also love Luffy's childhood, it's so bitter-sweet Although it kind of bothers me how Ace treats Luffy at the beginning, he actually tries to kill him… But I guess that's what makes it so sweet after the actually become true friends

@Coruscation:

Personally I see Luffy rather protecting islands indirectly, rather than outright declaring it as we saw Whitebeard doing, or having islands in his "possession" as Shanks and Kaidou seem to do. Like say, it becomes well-known that the people on it are Luffy's friends and maybe even that he kicked the ass of some big-name Marine or pirate because they harmed people he liked, so no one will dare attack it. That'd have to be a bit later on, though, not yet for a good while.

That's possible, but didn't Madam… (What was her name again?)... Well, something, predicted that Luffy would be the cause for FI destruction? I don't see the mer-people becoming his friends then... Unless he's not the direct cause, which we are still to see.

Anyway I don't see Luffy protecting FI, directly or indirectly. That is now Big Mom's territory. Comparing one to another, no one would care about Luffy's name next to Big Mom's. Correct me if I'm wrong in anything, please.

To Monkey King, where's your respect for a senior? It's true that it's not how long you've been on a forum that makes you better, but don't you think you're crossing the line?

@i:

Ace's death was the stepping stone for the TS. If Luffy actually saved Ace then he would never of had a reason to make himself stronger because he was already strong enough to protect his loved ones. Killing Ace showed Luffy that there are things he can't control and people he can't hang with yet. It terrified him to realize that he wasn't strong enough to protect his own brother, combine that with Kuma separating the SH's at SA right in front of his eyes and you've got one seriously scared strawhat (sorry, I had to). Not to mention the combined deaths of Ace and Whitebeard are also more of a symbol in the world of OP now. Two of the most renown pirates in the world were just publicly killed by the Marines, people felt safe for all of 10 minutes until the next batch of pirates decided to start ransacking towns in search/celebration of One Piece.

I'm not entirely sure this is the place to discuss this, but I don't really agree with you.

It's true I've been out of the OP world for a while and I had a lot to catch up before starting to debate the story again, and even though I think the reasons you pointed out could be the real ones, they still don't sound good to me. Sorry.

Luffy had to get strong, I think he allready realized that, when Kuma managed to get the crew away from each other, so, even though Ace's death was really important to this matter, it's not fully the reason why.

Whitebeard's death was more than enough to cast the whole world off balance, it really wasn't necessary to add Ace's death to this.

So, in the end, I think Ace's death served only for the purpose of Luffy coming alive from a battle where winning was impossible for him. Ace fulfiled his dutty as an older brother (even though not biological), he protected Luffy. And I think that that, is more than enough for a reason.

Getting to the poing (the new chapter), this was great. Had me crying when I remembered Nami's past again and it kind of had me feeling really bad for all of the Fishman, why can't they have peace with the humans? I want to see what's the flashback all about and, somehow, I'm eager to see the end Oda-sensei will give this arc.

@Sea:

You are attached to tragedy?

Ah… Not really but I read the manga so I could get why Ace died, and that got me to understand the plot a lot better than I did when I was a kid, I guess I felt happy watching it and ended up obsessed.

To GetsugaZoro, just because I started watching because of that reason, doesn't mean I'll stop just because no one else dies. I'm curious to see what will SH crew do now...

@Furnace:

Most Disappointing thing in One Piece:

The existence of a character that is Perona.

Hahaha

I think I was disappointed with Ace's death, even though it was important to the plotline. I have to admit it was also what got me addicted to OP.

One Piece makes me too happy for my own good.

In a matter of fact, 2 years isn't that much, I expected that people like Nami and Zoro would change a lot since they were in the way to adulthood, but adults don't really change that much in 2 years, right?

Either way, I wonder how Coby looks now…

Ufff… Why couldn't Oda make it 2 weeks? Why a whole month?
I feel as if I've been walking in a desert for days and days without water... I'm really freaking out.

sight 9 long days to wait...